Abstract:
The study on beneficial effects of maternal vitamin A supplementation on some infants’ malaria-related morbidities in rural communities in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria was carried out between August 2010 and November, 2011. One hundred and fifty-two (152) malaria parasitaemic pregnant women whose pregnancies had matured up to the 6th months were randomized into supplemented and placebo groups, with each group consisting of 76 women. Ten thousand international units (1U) of vitamin A was administered to the supplemented group three times per week while the placebo group received the vitamin A soft gels drained off its active ingredients thrice weekly. The two groups were followed up until they delivered their babies. On delivery of the babies, 200, 000 1U of vitamin A was administered within 8 weeks to the supplemented group. This regimen was cautiously repeated after every three months until the end of the study. The placebo group also received placebo at equal frequencies until the study was over. The study lasted until the infants of the women of the two groups were 12 months old. Quarterly, from the third month postpartum, venous blood specimens were collected from the infants of both groups and used for malaria parasite examinations, using standard parasitological techniques. Incidence of malaria-related morbidities among the infants was assessed with strict adherence to standard diagnostic methods and procedures. Data collected were analysed at p<0.05 level of significance, using analysis of variance ((ANOVA) and Fisher’s least significance difference (FLSD) for mean separation. T-test was used to compare the supplemented group with the placebo group and statistical significance was also determined at p<0.05. Maternal vitamin A supplementation was found to be beneficial in reducing the mean incidence of malaria-related morbidities among the infants irrespective of the fact that some non-significant beneficial effects were observed in some cases. Its beneficial effect was most significantly recorded in the control of fever episodes. Pre-partum and post-partum vitamin A supplementation are therefore recommended for general infant health especially as it affects malaria morbidities.
